A drug once dubbed the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss jabs helps women lose substantially more weight than men, research shows.
Women lost up to a quarter of their body weight using Mounjaro for up to 20 months, analysis found.
This compared to up to 18 per cent for men, according to trials involving more than 4,500 obese adults.
Experts said the reason for the variation was not yet known, adding that the results show it is effective tool for combatting obesity in both sexes.
The once weekly jab is a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, which mimic a hormone that helps suppress the appetite, reducing food intake.
Trials have also found the drug tirzepatide boosts the production of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, essential to control type 2 diabetes.
It was provisionally approved by UK regulators earlier this year for people with a body mass index of at least 35 and at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.
Researchers at Eli Lilly analysed the results of four of their trials, which included 4,677 obese adults on the drug for up to 88 weeks.
Across all trials, tirzepatide was associated with significant weight loss when compared to those in the placebo groups.
Similar levels of men and women were able to achieve goals of five, ten and 15 per cent weight loss reductions, according to the findings presented at The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid.
But the effects were more substantial in women with weight loss ranging from 11.5 to 27.6 per cent of their total body weight compared to between 8.8 and 18.9 per cent in men.
Presenting the findings, Dr Luis-Emilio García-Pérez said further research was needed to understand why women shed more pounds.
He said: ‘I don’t have any explanation right now. It may be related to body fat distribution, it may be related to pharmacology but we don’t have an answer just yet.’
He added: ‘The safety profile was broadly similar by sex, but a numerically higher incidence of nausea and vomiting was observed in females.’
